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British judge grants Lord Lucan death certificate

LONDON — A judge has granted a death certificate to the son of Lord Lucan, an aristocrat who disappeared more than 40 years ago, bringing a form of closure to one of the most mysterious cases to enthrall the British public.

British judge grants Lord Lucan death certificate

George Bingham, son of the infamous British aristocrat Lord Lucan, reacts as he leaves the High Court in central London on Feb. 3, 2016. A British judge officially declared the infamous aristocrat Lord Lucan dead, nearly 42 years after the playboy aristocrat disappeared following the murder of his children's nanny in an unsolved mystery.(Photo: JUSTIN TALLIS, AFP/Getty Images)

LONDON — A judge has granted a death certificate to the son of Lord Lucan, an aristocrat who disappeared more than 40 years ago, bringing a form of closure to one of the most mysterious cases to enthrall the British public.

George Bingham can now become the Eighth Earl of Lucan, following the ruling at the High Court in London on Wednesday.

His father Lord Lucan, born Richard John Bingham, vanished in Nov. 1974 at the age of 39 after Sandra Rivett, his children's nanny, was bludgeoned to death at his home in London. Lucan's estranged wife Lady Lucan was also assaulted but managed to escape. She said Lucan was the attacker and mistook Rivett for her, according to media reports.

Lord Lucan's car was found abandoned near the southern English coast. He was declared Rivett’s killer by a jury at an inquest in 1975.

Over the years, sightings have been reported of Lucan in places including Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, none of them verified. Some people believe he committed suicide by drowning himself in the English Channel.

Lucan was declared dead by the High Court in 1999, which Bingham said didn't prove death "for all purposes." His application for the death certificate was made under the Presumption of Death Act, which came into force in 2014. Rivett's son Neil Berriman had opposed the application according to media reports, telling the Daily Mail that if Lucan was still alive, he should be prosecuted.

Speaking to Britain’s Press Association after the ruling, George Bingham said: "I am very happy with the judgment of the court in this matter. It has been a very long time coming."

Berriman told the news agency after the judgement Wednesday: "I think he's (Lucan) dead. It is fantastic and I am very pleased for him (Bingham)."